Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Social Work Monkeys

There has been a great deal of outrage within the disabled community about the (upcoming in the UK) film The Tropic of Thunder. Whilst I disagree with the viewpoint that certain words or phrases should be banned, instead believing that change will only come when we make such words too cool to be used as insults as other minority groups have done before us, it is wonderful to see our community, usually so disparate pulling together to take action. More, much more of the same is what we need to truly make a difference.

Funny that from a blog so desperate to count it's own media mentions. In fact that pretty much sums up the problem with Social Workers as I've seen it. Completely obsessed with their own image and utterly disinterested in that of the people they pretend to represent.

6 comments:

Yes social work monkeys! Grrr!Being on the recieving end of such language, it is wonderful as you say that most of us are pulling together.This video has been made to send a message to Hollywoodhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzgQ3LVNhps

I sincerely hope that the offending word isnt revived over here because of this film.

Cas: I know, wouldn't that be ironic! I do believe though that it won't be this kind of protest which changes the use of language, if anything I worry that'll make it worse (remember joey's after blue peter?) We have to figure out a way to make us as cool a minority as other groups have done. Small steps I guess. Hoping both you and C are doing ok, hugs x

On the one hand he complains about racism and on the other he dismisses homophobia and disablism - at least he'll never get run over with two faces to help him cross the road.

Though he does have a point about the furore being manufactured - but then chooses to ignore that all furores are manufactured - in the sense that it requires someone to complain and someone to organise it appeared in the papers or where ever.

Actually it does rather remind me of a BBC writing course I attended a while ago - I shouldn't have been there on account of being a nut and the course was only meant for crips/deafos/blindies etc.

One of the people there had been working on a pilot for the BBC that was supposed to be a disabled version of Goodness Gracious Me - as terrible as that sounds, given as how I found Goodness Gracious Me deeply racist both in premise and execution.

Anywho...

The pilot got cancelled very early on, when someone read the script and suggested changes, and the writers (all of them disabled) complained about censorship and the BBC not wishing to deal with the reality of disability - which of course they don't, how many times have we seen someone throw a vase to signify a nervous breakdown? Or the central theme of a drama revolve around a 'miracle cure' or somehow coming to accept your disability in a really patronising way that completely ignores the underlying problems?

My guess is that the real reason the script got dropped was because it just wasn't funny (not that that has ever stopped the BBC comedy commisioner). The guy I knew was very earnest and militant - and as per usual for such people, had some really rather minor complaint (not wishing to judge and all that) but I got the feeling that they were playing on the disability to somehow make them a spokesman - but the long and short of things was that they weren't funny and they weren't original - at least from the work I saw of theirs.

I think it's a shame that you've had poor experience of social workers. I won't defend my profession because if I spent my time doing that there would be little time to get any work done and it's probably fair criticism anyway - it shows how much more there is to be done.

TFA: That's funny! I know exactly what you mean about the BBC though (infairness all the channels are like that) I can't remember the name of the show, but there was a comedy set in a care home shown on BBC3 last year I think. It bordered on being funny in places, but it was as though the BBC had run screaming in fear from the original script (it was written by crips) and in their need to tone it down had removed the true humour. Or it was just crap in the first place.

I couldn't agree more with you about the issue of it being those with minor complaints (usually nothing really physically wrong but an insistence there is in order not to deal with their psychological issues) who are most militant, in fact Ms O and I were discussing how disproportionate the numbers of young crip women identifying as gay seem to be.

CB: Hello, thank you for your comment. I also think its a terrible shame I've had such a bad experience with social workers, particularly as it's left me feeling more frightened of the damage social workers can potentially do to my life again than it has anything else. Worse still is that I'm not unique in that. It's unfortunate more social workers don't have your attitude. BG x

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